In the Netherlands, antitrinitarianism was at first coiniected with the Anaba|)tist movement. An Antl- trinitarian, Herman van Vleckwyck, was burned at the stake at Bruges in 15G9. Amsterdam and Leyden each contained a band of Sociuians at the close of the 16th century, whose expulsion was attempted by the States-General, though not with entire success. The sect continued to grow, even in the face of the active efforts of the orthodox synods to bring about its extir- pation. The influx of Polish coreligionists, who were banished from their native countrj', greatly strength- ened its numbers. Constant repression of its worship and interference with its tenets eventually produced the intended effect, however; the Socinian party gradually melted away, and its members were absorbed by the Remonstrants, the more liberal Anabaptists, and the Collegiants.
Antitrinitarian ideas found reception in England as early as the reign of Henry VIII, and furnished numer- ous martyrs. So late as the time of James I three Anti- trinitarians were burned at the stake. The Polish So- ciuians forwarded a copy of their Catechism to the lat- ter monarch, which was not favorably received, but proved the first of an uninterrupted series of Socinian writings which circulated from that time. John Biddle (q. v.) became the prominent advocate of a modified Socinianism, and the rise of deism secured to it a wide- spread existence, even though it was excluded from the Acts of Toleration, and was under the ban of stringent laws; and it became a tendency among the clergy of the Established Church. Lindsey and Priestley event- ually brought about a breach with the Churcli. The old repressive laws were finally repealed in 1813. For the present status of Unitarianism in England, recourse must be had to the census-tables of 1851, the census of I8G1 not giving information respecting the creed of the inhabitants. In 1851 (ireat Britain contained 239 Uni- tarian churches, whicli afforded (58,554 sittings, and at- tracted 37,15G attendants — nearly all of them being in England.
Unitarianism was planted in North America in the middle of the 18lh century, and obtained its first Amer- ican church in November, 1787, when James Freeman ((]. V.) was ordained pastor over the King's Chapel con- gregation in IJoston. The movetnent spread in secret, care being taken by its supporters to avoid alarming the ortliodox part of the popidation; so that when the state of afTairs was finally understood, nearly every Congregational C^hurch iu Boston had become Unita- rian, and many churches in other parts of New England had adopted Unitarian views. A controversy growing out of the pnblicali(ui in 1815 of a pamphlet entitle(i Aiiicriciin I'liitiiriitnisin led to the witlidrawal of Uni- tarians from tlie orthodox, and their separate organiza- tion. Channing ((]. v.) became the foremost represent- ative of the new sect. The American Unitarian As- sociation, founded in 1825, became its centre, and the ('liristian F.-ramimr its leading periodical. It has now less than 300 churches, about 350 ministers, a member-
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ship estimated at about 30,000, two theological schools, and a number of benevolent and other societies. The Socinian view has many supporters, besides, in the Christian churches (q. v.) and among the Universalists. See Fock, Der Socinianismus nucli seiner iStellung in d. Gesammtenhcicklung des christl. Geistes, n. seinem hist. Verlavfu.n.seinem Lehi-begrijf (Kiel, 1847); Hurst,/yiA"^ of Ratioiuilism, ch. xxiii; Gieseler, Ch. Hist, iv, 358- 365; Baumgarten-Crusins, Co?«7J«;f/. i, 334; Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum, etc. (Amst. 1626, 6 vols, fol.) ; Lindsey, Historical View of U nit aruinism from the Ref- ormation (Lond. 1783) ; Belsham, Memoir of Lindsey (1812) ; Reez, Racovian Catechism, with historical in- troduction (Lond. 1818, etc.). — Herzog, Real- Enq/klo}), s. V. See SociNiA>'isM.
Socinus, Laelius {Lelio Sozzini), a noted Italian heresiarch, uncle of the preceding, was born in Sienna in 1525, being the son of Mariano Sozzini, Jun., a lawyer, of a family that made considerable pretensions to learn- ing. Lelio gave himself to the study of theology, then quickened by the discussions of Luther, and lor this purjiose read the Bible in the original tongues. This made him suspected by the Church authorities, and he left Italy about 1544, and wandered for four years over France, England, the Netherlands, and Germany in search of knowledge. He at last settled at Zurich, where his erudition and personal qualities at tirst gained him consideration, and there entered upon a series of investigations and a course of correspondence which re- sulted in undermining his belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ. These convictions rendering him unpopular at Zurich, he retired, after the death of his father, in 1658 or 1559, to Poland, where Sigismund II received him favorablv, and gave him letters that enabled him to re- turn with prestige to Zurich ; and he spent the remain- der of his days there in peace, dying May 16, 1562. He left the following works : iJialor/us inter Calvinum et Vaticanum (s. 1. 1612, 8vo), in which he opposes the punishment of heretics: — De Sacramentis and De Re- surrectione Coriiorum, both inserted in Fausti et Lcelii Socini Tractatus ( Eleutheropolis [Holland], 1654). Sand {Biblioth. Antitrin. p. 18-25) speaks of some other doubtful writing attributed to Ltelius Socinus. — Hoefer, Nouv. Biorj. Generale, s. v.
Socket (""IX, e'den), the base, e. g. of the planks of the tabernacle (Exod. xxvi, 19, etc.), the pedestal of a pillar (xxxviii, 10 sq. ; Cant, v, 15) ; the " foundation" of a building (Job xxxviii, 6). See Column.